President Bola Tinubu has made some fresh nominations for appointment as non-career ambassadors.
Those on the list include the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers state and former naval chief, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.
Others are former senator Ita Enang; former Imo state first lady, Chioma Ohakim; and former Minister of Interior and former chief of army staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
The President also nominated Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Senator Nora Daduut, and Fatima Ajimobi, among others, for appointment as non-career ambassadors.
The letter from President Tinubu, requesting Senate confirmation of the 34 career ambassadors and 31 non-career ambassadors and high commissioners-nominees, was read during plenary on Thursday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The lists have been referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is expected to conduct the screening process and report back to the upper chamber within one week.
Naijaonpoint reports that the list brings to 68 the total number of persons so far nominated for appointment as ambassadors by President Tinubu.
Recall that the Senate on Wednesday screened and cleared three ambassadorial nominees forwarded by President Bola Tinubu, after a session lawmakers described as rigorous, dominated by national security and competence reviews.
Naijaonpoint reports that the nominees cleared by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs are former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency and ex-Ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat, Ayo Oke, career diplomat and former Ambassador to South Korea, Amin Muhammad Dalhatu and former Director General of the State Security Service, Lateef Kayode Are.
The session gained momentum when Oke, whose name has repeatedly featured in public controversies, sought to address issues raised by Senators, notably Seriake Dickson and Adams Oshiomhole.
He acknowledged Dickson and Oshiomhole for raising matters he described as “already in the public domain.”
Oke, who sought the committee’s permission to address the concerns, stated that while he would not delve into sensitive operational details, he was prepared to clarify key points.
Touching on the controversial covert operation that has trailed his name for years, he stated that the “clandestine operation” enjoyed the approval of two Presidents, stressing that his actions were taken strictly in the service of national security.
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